Top officials from NATO member and candidate countries, from formerly Soviet-ruled nations and from Russia gathered on February 3-4 for the Munich Conference on Security Policy, the West's top annual event in this field. NATO's Secretary General Lord George Robertson, Henry Kissinger, the incoming and... MORE

The unusual silence which blanketed Russian-U.S. relations in the days immediately following U.S. President George W. Bush's inauguration came to a close this week as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov held a telephone conversation on January 30, and... MORE

Nazir Khapsirokov, the former "property manager" for the Prosecutor General's Office, has been named a deputy head of the Kremlin administration. While his exact duties have not yet been made public, Khapsirokov will be one of five deputies to Kremlin chief of staff Aleksandr Voloshin.... MORE

Federal Security Service Director Nikolai Patrushev said yesterday that the Chechen rebel forces today number some 5,000 fighters, 1,500 of whom will never give up their fight against the federal forces. Speaking before the Federation Council, Patrushev noted that this was a significant force, and... MORE

Leading representatives of the International Helsinki Federation, who gathered at a conference last week in Moscow, issued, an open letter to Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of the two chambers of the Russian parliament on January 31, both in Helsinki and at IHF... MORE

During a full day of talks in Moscow this week, German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping got an earful of criticism and concerns from Russian officials on the subject of Western security policies. Scharping's official visit included talks with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defense Minister Igor... MORE

Rumors of an impending shake-up in the upper reaches of the Russian government are becoming increasingly persistent. Nezavisimaya gazeta reported yesterday that President Vladimir Putin was planning to replace most of the top officials in both the presidential administration and the government, beginning at the... MORE

On January 29, officials of the Volgograd Oblast branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) detailed what they claimed was a failed attempt by Chechen rebels to blow up a dam. The authorities held a press conference in which they presented Vasily Kalinkin, a former... MORE

President Eduard Shevardnadze's January 29-30 visit to Turkey highlighted that country's role as a buttress to Georgian independence and anchor to the West. The visit laid to rest for good any questions regarding the continuity of Turkish policy in the South Caucasus in the wake... MORE

Relations between Canada and Russia have been tested in recent days following Moscow's refusal to waive diplomatic immunity for two Russian diplomats charged in separate incidents on January 20 with drunk driving. In the more serious of the two cases, a Canadian lawyer--50-year-old Catherine MacLean--was... MORE